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can't wait

No shortage of motivation to beat old enemy – Bowe

Tommy Bowe is aiming to finish the Six Nations on a high, and maybe even grab himself a sneaky try-scoring record along the way.

WHILE MANY OF his teammates have been stoking the flames ahead of Saturday’s visit to Twickenham, Tommy Bowe is just warming his hands at the prospect.

With Ireland having bounced back from a disappointing defeat against Wales, and England rejuvenated beyond all recognition, this has all the hallmarks of being an enthralling contest.

Despite England winning in the Aviva last August, the winger – who has scored five tries in this campaign – doesn’t need to go searching for any extra incentives to beat Stuart Lancaster’s side.

“It’s a massive game with two form teams coming up against each other.” Bowe told reporters yesterday.

“With four matches in four weeks obviously it’s a difficult task, but no player needs any motivation going to Twickenham this weekend.”

Ireland have had plenty of success at the home of English rugby since dethroning the World Champions with a shock 19-13 win in 2004.

Gordon D’Arcy spoke before the tournament started about never having lost at the ground, so undoubtedly it holds no great fear for an Irish team.

Bowe, however, was keen to stress that winning in London is not all that simple:

“I think there’s always lots of fuel to the fire in this fixture. There’s lots of motivation there for us, but we know we’ve got a tough task ahead of us but I think we’re more than confident of doing the job.”

“We’ve obviously got a very good record there” the Monaghan man later added, “it’s a very difficult place to go to – one of the places that all professional rugby players want to play and try to come away with a win.

“Last time we were there, we did very well and we’re going to try and replicate that this weekend.”

History

Bowe was cruelly denied his sixth try of the Championship by a TMO decision against Scotland, but at the corner of his eye he still has the prospect of breaking the record of six tries in a single Six Nations tournament.

When asked whether a place in the history books was in the back of his mind, Bowe did not entirely shun the idea, saying,

“Yeah, it was there last weekend too. I think it’s a big weekend and first and foremost (to target) is a big win for us.”

Second place and the pride of having beaten someone other than Scotland and Italy is the only prize available to Ireland, but according to Bowe, that will not diminish the determination of Declan Kidney’s side.

“We just want to finish on a high, I think finishing off the Six Nations with a win in Twickenham will round things off a bit nicer.”

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